Big name comedians coming to Austin for SXSW Comedy
February 21, 2017 |
By Dani Dudek

The initial list of SXSW Comedy Festival participants is out and the lineup is already impressive.

The week-long SXSW Comedy is filled with live shows, podcast recordings, broadcast tapings and more.SXSW Comedy

Chris Hardwick brings his popular @midnight to the fest. The special SXSW edition of the Emmy-award winning late night show. Tom Lennon, Whitney Cumming and Nick Swardson will all take part.

Dan Harmon’s live fantasy role-playing show HarmonQuest, an improvised Dungeons & Dragons game, returns. So does Big Jay Oakerson’s What’s Your F@%king Deal? As always, the popular podcast Doug Hates Movies from Austin comedy scene regular Doug Benson is also back.

Wyatt Cenac’s Night Train showcase is a part of the lineup for the very first time. truTV’s newest show Talk Show the Game Show, featuring Wanda Sykes, will also joins the roster.

Comedy legends the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre host events all week. But, the program we’re most excited for features both UCB and SNL alums and regulars. Lorne Michaels’s Above Average develops original comedy programming online with a digital first attitude. Based on the list of SXSW Comedy participants, we assume Janeane Garafalo, Horatio Sanz and Sasheer Zamata will take part, among others.

There are a few SXSW films that crossover into the comedy territory. The Big Sick is the result of a collaboration between Judd Apatow and Kumail Nanjiani, Fits and Starts stars Wyatt Cenac and Austin’s own SNL alumni Noel Wells brings her first major directing effort Mr. Roosevelt to the fest. Mr Roosevelt also stars participant Nick Thune and Doug Benson.

See all the celebrities attending SXSW 2017 here.